Shopaholic, Sobered Up
by csinyfever
Summary: Every women loves shopping right? Well, Miss. Danville is certainly one of them. Another fact of life is that we learn by experience. In this experiance, Jo learns three things: A little of what you fancy does you good, too much of it can taint it forever and sometimes, emotions become apparent that you never thought existed.
1. Chapter 1

_Shopaholic, Sobered up._

**Chapter one**

Saturday, Mac was in his office, it was 9 o'clock but in true Mac Taylor style, he had been there for several hours. Each ding of the elevator made Mac pop his head up. He'd put it down to just the irritating noise and casual small talk that could be heard as people said their good morning's to their colleagues.

Ding. "Can someone help me? Please! Does anyone know where Detective Taylor is?!"

_Ellie? _Mac looked up to see the young girl frantically looking around, **for him. **He dashed out of his office "Ellie! Over here!" As she ran to him, he knelt down in one knee expecting her to stop, but instead she wraped her arms round him in a tight embrace, burying her head in his shoulder.

Although Mac was shocked, he was worried more than anything else and he protectively stroked her hair as she begins to sob "Hey, hey." He held her at arms length so he can look at her "Now, what's the matter?"

"Well.." Ellie began between sobs. "M-mum went out shopping...5 hours ago and...she hasn't come back.

At that, Mac's detective instincts went into overdrive. _Where is she? Is she okay? Is that a normal shopping day for her? Snap out of it Mac! You have to comfort Ellie! _

"El look, you know what you girls are like, you go into Bloomingdales get dazzled by all the amazing clothes, then you bump into someone and have a coffee..." Ellie nods in response. "Hours can go by in a flash. I'm sure she's fine" Mac said trying to reassure himself as well as Ellie.

"Oh Mac, that's horrible! Poor Ellie, we need to find her!" Lindsey said, worry evident on her face.

"That's what I'm going to do Lindsey, but could you do me a favour and take Ellie for a walk, drink and bite to eat, just to distract her? I just need to start to try and figure this out, and I don't want to her to see because that would cause her even more distress. Is that okay with you?" Mac asked.

"Of course Mac. I'd do anything for Jo, she's like a sister to me."

"Thank you Lindsey."

As Mac watched Ellie and Lindsey walk out of the lab, one of Lindsey's arms round the young girls shoulders, he couldn't help let his composure slide a little. He started to pace around his office. After taking a few deep breaths, he took out his phone and dialled her number.

"Come on Jo, pick up, pick up."

While Mac waited anxiously, praying she'd pick up, his conscious and subconscious mind started debating.

_**"Don't you see it? Why do you think you keep looking up at the elevator every time it opens? Why you immediately feel happier when a certain person walks into a room?" **_

_"What, Jo?" his conscious asked._

_**"Yes Jo!" his subconscious said, pointing out the blindingly obvious.**_

The argument was interrupted by a sweet, seductive voice.

"Hi, this is Jo Danville. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."

_**Damn! **_Mac slammed his phone down on his desk, fell back into his chair and rubbed his temples trying to calm down, decide on his next step and work out what the hell just happened in his head.

Mac began to think about all the moments he had with Jo. The brushes of skin against skin, the looks, the smiles, the winks, the comforting words, seductive words...'_God, what's happening to me?' _He asked himself.

_**You're lonely, you miss wrapping your arms round someone at night. Isn't Jo the one you love to have in your company, laugh, joke, and if you'd open your eyes, flirt with? It may not be far away for you Mac. Happiness... Its all Claire wanted for you. His subconscious answered. **_

Mac walked down the hall to get a bottle of water and some head space, Mac pasted Jo's office and he realised how dull the lab was without her. He'd taken Jo for granted, not realised how much he counted on her to get through one day.

_She's just a good friend and I'm worried about her, that's why she's on my mind right? Yes, yes, that's got to be it._ Mac reassured himself, took a big gulp of water, and headed back to the lonely abode of his office.

Lindsey looked at the young girl walking next to her, her brown orbs downcast at the pavement, the worry and upset etched clearly upon her face.

Trying to cheer Ellie up, Lindsey asks "So El, where would you like to eat? Y'know, Mac tells me you love that knew burger joint on 3rd. Would you like to go there?"

"I'm not hungry, sorry."

Lindsey sighed silently and looked at Ellie's eyes that were brimming with tears. Kneeling down to her level, she said "El, I know for a fact that Mac and the rest of our team is dong everything in his power to find your mum, and you can be as sure as hell that I will be."

A slight smile crossed Ellie's face at that. "I know, I know she cared for," I'm sure a _little more by some than other members of the team, _Ellie thought.

"I just feel so helpless...I know Mum said she was going to go to AllSaints but I don't know where else she was going to go...Oh God what if I never see her again?" she sobs.

Lindsey gave her a hug "You will see her again El. I'll make sure of it.

Mac was pacing up and down his office when he got the text from Lindsey that she'd discreetly sent to him on where Ellie had said she knew Jo had gone. _AllSaints! _He sent a quick thanks to Lindsey and him, Danny and Sheldon headed over to AllSaints.

"Excuse me?" Mac said to the shop assistant.

A young, fair haired, blonde, slim girl turned to face them "Hello Gentlemen, welcome to AllSaints, my name's Abbie, how can I help you?" Abbie said almost rhythmically as though she said the words many times before.

Mac flashed his badge. "We're not here to shop Abbie. I'm Detective Taylor and this is Detective Messer and Hawkes with the Crime Lab. Can we ask you a few questions?"

"Yes of course officer, how can I help?"

Taking a deep breath, Mac took out the photo of Jo and showed it to the assistant. "Have you seen her? She's been missing for..." He checked his watch _oh shit! "..._6 hours. According to her daughter she told her she was going to come in here."

Abbie studied the photo carefully, oblivious to the three detectives growing more impatient by the minute.

"Yes I do recognise her, she comes in rather regularly apparently according to the full time workers."

"Have you seen her today?" Danny asked

"Yes, I believe I have. Although I don't know if she bought anything. May I ask her name? So I can look on the computer to see if she has a membership card and then I can see what she bought, if anything.

"Her names Jo Danville." Sheldon answered.

Abbie ran it through the computer, sighs and turns back to the three detectives. "Sorry, she hasn't bought anything here since last week."

"Well, thank you for your time." Mac said, deflated. They were about to go when;

"Excuse me sir, sorry. Did you say her name was Jo Danville? I saw her today, she was looking at our new collection over there, in the right hand corner."

"Thank you...Mandy." Sheldon said, reading her name tag.

The other two detectives nodded in appreciation as they grabbed their kits and walked in the direction of the new collection stand, setting up crime scene tape around the area, plus a little extra for good measure.

"How long will this take Detectives?" Abbie asked

Mac turned to her. "As long as it takes." _I will find you Jo. _Mac thought.

"Would you like a drink Ellie?" Lindsey asked.

Ellie nodded. "Please may I just have water?"

"Sure" Lindsey says, handing her a bottle.

She smiles and takes it, however, looking out the window, Ellie appears in her own world until she speaks "All I want is for my mum to be happy, y'know? And I know who can give it to her, but neither of them can see it for themselves. I'm scared that they won't get to pursue it now." A sob escaping her rosy lips.

Lindsey felt guilty at the fact she had no idea what to say but also a great deal of admiration for the young girl, at her maturity and trait to put others before herself at such a young age.

Lindsey, knowing she had to say something, said, "That's all all of us want for you mother El." in an attempt to console her. "Who can't see how happy they could make your mother?" She added.

"Mac Taylor is the oblivious one. Ironic considering she's a detective, she should be able to figure it out. ." She paused. "Mum could make _him_ happy y'know. They've both been lonely for too long."

"They most definitely have El." _Damn that girl's insightful. _Lindsey thought.

After looking over their crime scene for roughly an hour or so, they had found 3 pieces of trace: a single blonde hair, a fibre from what looked like a piece of clothing, and what Mac thought was droplets of sweat and 3 sets of finger prints. But nothing yet to give Mac any confidence that him and the team were headed in the right direction to find Jo.

_"She isn't blonde, the fibre might not be from Jo's clothing, and how are we supposed to know? The 'sweat' might not even be sweat and the fingerprints have a chance of one in God knows how many of being her's!" _Mac almost screamed in his head, his usual cool psyche, ascending to the other end of the thermometer by the second.

Danny and Sheldon were about to leave when they turned back and saw Mac still thoroughly searching.

"Mac we searched every inch of this place, there's nothing else." Danny said, just as annoyed as Mac that they hadn't found something more solid, but even though it showed in the tone of his voice, major concern for his boss was also evident. _This is totally out of character for him...God, we need to find her. _

"We will find her Mac." Sheldon added.

In all honesty, Mac really wasn't paying much attention. His eyes were fixed on the glinting silver chain under the stand that he'd just expertly noticed. As he gently started to untangle it from the displays grasp, Mac had a rush of conflicting emotions.

One side of him wanted it to be Jo's so he knew that they were one step closer to finding her but the glint of hope he was holding onto by thin threads was praying that it wasn't and that he'd get a phone call and hear her sweet southern drawl on the other end. But alas, the harshness of reality triumphed again and he pulled out the blue diamond necklace and immediately recognised it as a birthday gift from Ellie and Tyler.

The joyful comment of "Oh i_sn't it wonderful Mac? I'm so lucky to have such beautiful children." _made by Jo wandered into his conscious, weakening his barrier to his emotion a little, making the fire of determination to find her burn every more brightly in his soul.

Jo groaned as she roused from conscience. Her vision was blurred, and although her her mind wanted to sit up, get up and find a way out of here, her body wouldn't comply. The only thing her body was capable of was to move her head from side to side. The rest of her body seemed disconnected, lifeless. Moving her head to the opposite side, Jo came face to face with blood. Her blood. Jo then, became aware of the wetness of her hair and cheek, her mind then going into overdrive.

_Oh God, what happened, who brought me here, why am I bleeding? And- Ow! _Jo was waking up a bit more now, and she began to feel a sharp pain in her ribs.

_Okay, okay calm down Jo, just breathe. Panicking won't get you out of here. _

Suddenly, dim light's came on and anxiety tightened in her chest, she staying totally still expecting her attacker to come in, but nothing happened..._yet _she thought the anxiety still strong within her.

Looking around, Jo took in her surroundings, which where very limited. It was a box room, the walls almost looked rusty as water dripped from the ceiling. It was cold, alone and terrifying.

_How am I supposed to get out of here? _She thought.

Back at the lab, Mac was in his office turning over Jo's diamond necklace in his hands. I've taken Jo for granted, and now...I may not even be able to apologise.

Meanwhile, Danny was down the hall in trace, working on the fibre that they found at the crime scene. Looking at it through the microscope, Danny had never seen his particular type of fibre before. _It looks like some sort of wool. _He thinks. Getting out a textbook, Danny looks at textures of fibres and the basic characteristics of wool match the fibre however, looking at the properties of the of it, at an educated guess Danny thought it might have been made and manufactured abroad. _Maybe ENDA would know what it is. _

Just as Danny had set EDNA to find a match to the fibre, Sheldon walked in

"Hey Danny." Sheldon said.

Danny turned "Oh, hey Sheldon. How are the prints coming?"

"Unfortunately, very slowly. How's the identification of the fibre coming?"

"It's going at a steady pace. I'm just waiting for EDNA to identify it." BEEP "Ahh, here we go." Danny looked at the results "It's a mixture of wool and silk, hence the weird results. The fabric is mostly made into cardigans and it's sold in many clothes stores including AllSaints. I'll get a list of all the people that have bought one of these types of cardigans from any stores in Manhattan." Danny said.

"Good idea." Sheldon replied.

"Hey guys," Adam said as he walked in "The results are back on your fingerprints" he said, holding an iPad.

"Well, tell us then." Both detectives pressed.

Jo was now able to stand although her good balance had somewhat left her due to her head injury and was frantically looking for a way out of this prison when she was stopped dead in her tracks by a door opening from the outside in. _Oh God! Breathe Jo! _She closed her eyes and suddenly Mac entered her minds eye, smiling, telling her everything will be ok, that **he will find her. **

However, she brutally wrenched away from her relieving image before she could even wonder why that had entered her head when the door slammed and a loose outline of a figure could be seen. What stood out though was the mask. It was a classic mask used in drama production, white and smiling. As the figure stepped into the light, it became clear that it was a women. She laughed menacingly at Jo, her prey as she watched her cower into the far corner.

Finding some courage once her attacker had stopped laughing, Jo exclaimed "You won't get away with this y'know. My team will find me and lock you up."

The mask scoffed "Daddy Taylor can't help you now sweetie: your mine!"

Anxiety crawled up in Jo's chest "Don't you dare do anything to him you bitch! _**Please let Mac be okay. **_Her subconscious whispered

Furry flickered in the women's eyes and her lunged at Jo knocking her backward into the wall, cutting her back badly on the jagged surface, and pinning her there by her wrists tightly. Jo clenched her jaw, she was not about to give this bitch any satisfaction not matter how much pain her back and wrists were in.

"I do things my way, and my way only. Other wise...I do this."

The masked women then pushed Jo harder into the wall and squeezed her wrists, digging her nails in and Jo could feel the blood trickle down her wrists and back and just as the pain began to get too much, the predictor let go and Jo slid to the ground.

Just as her attacker started to walk away, Jo whispered "Please...don't...hurt Mac."

The women chuckled "Happy bleeding." and left, the door vanishing into the wall.

Before the emptiness of unconsciousness overcame Jo, her last thoughts were of Mac, Ellie and Tyler.

Mac looked up from the necklace as there was a knock at the door to see Adam, Sheldon and Danny. Mac gently put the necklace down and waved them in.

"What have we got on the fibre?" Mac asked Danny.

"Well, it's unusual, a combination of wool and silk. It is mainly manufactured abroad, the majority of it is used to make cardigans and many shops in Manhattan sell it." Danny replied.

"Once a list was compiled of who has bought one over the last couple of weeks, the list is very long which is surprising because they have high end clientele, but at any rate it would take too much time to go through it, time we don't have." Sheldon added.

"Can you narrow it down by people with records?" Mac asked.

"I tried that, but the people with records committed their felonies seven years ago at least and none resemble anything like our crime scene and even more annoyingly, none of the evidence found matched evidence at our crime, so there is no suggestion of a signature which we can tie to someone" Sheldon answered

"Damn it!" Mac exclaimed barely keeping the level of his voice normal.

The three detectives, a little taken aback, just stared at Mac for a second. Hoping to lighten the mood, Adam piped up; "We got a hit on the prints though."

"It matched to Abigail Daniels, the shop assistant at AllSaints." Danny finished.

Don walked out of the lift and headed straight towards Mac's office. Noticing him, Mac headed out to meet him.

"Has Abigail offered to come in voluntarily or do I need to phone the Chief and ask for a warrant?" Mac asked, as he prayed the warrant wouldn't be necessary as he really couldn't handle a lengthy argument with him, which if he had to phone him, would be inevitable.

"She's down in the precinct waiting in interrogation." Don answered, finally feeling more confidant that they were making headway on finding the culprit for Jo's disappearance, which he hadn't since this whole ordeal began.

Entering the interrogation room, Mac was faced with an obviously annoyed Abigail Daniels.

"Why am I here? I cooperated didn't I? I've told you everything I know! You're wasting your time and mine." she spat angrily.

Mac sat down and Flack began the interrogation as himself and Mac had discussed "Miss Daniels, Detective Taylor's team found your fingerprints at the crime scene." _You lied, you lied you little bitch! _

"Care to change that statement Abigail? Or at the very least give us an explanation that we might deem plausible." Mac added not being able to contain his anger.

"In case you'd failed to notice, I do work at that store! My fingerprints could have got there in many different ways." Abigail fired back, appearing unfazed.

"What have you been doing this morning? Go through your day step by step and don't miss anything out this time!" Mac warned.

"I do the same things everyday: work the tills, organise displays-" she was cut of abruptly by Mac.

"Did you 'organise' the display from our crime scene?" Mac asked coldly.

"Most likely, it's the stores main advertisement at the moment and therefore, the main priority, my fingerprints could have got on there easy." Abigail replied smugly knowing that she'd won.

As Mac walked out of the interrogation room, he couldn't contain his anger. "Smug little brat!" he spat.

"That she is." Flack looked at Mac and saw the raw emotions in his eyes.

"We _will_ find her Mac." Flack said, trying to console him.

_"If it's the last thing I do." _Mac thought.

One breath, the intoxicating mist of tobacco and nicotine was off into the night. The shrill sound of a cellphone rang out, and it was answered.

"Hey."

"..."

"Yea, they interrogated me, chill out, the evidence they had was pitiful! We do have one problem though..."

"..."

"Yup, you nailed it. Don't worry, I'll get it sorted."

And with that, the conversation ended, the phone was thrown in the trash and the former owner walked off into the night.

_**HEY GUYS! WHAT DID YOU THINIK? THIS IS MY FIRST STORY SO, I'M ANXIOUS TO KNOW IF IT'S ANY GOOD. SO PLEASE, REVIEW, IT WOULD MAKE MY DAY. BECAUSE I'M GOING BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW, I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP, BUT I'LL TRY MY BEST TO PUT IT UP ASAP. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_Shopaholic, Sobered Up._

**Chapter 2**

_**AN: Please accept my sincerest apologeies for the long gab between updates. My school work has been taking up so much of my time! Finally, I owe Quille a MASSIVE thank you. She has literally saved me, and this story. I have really enjoyed working out this chapter with you hon, because of you, I have new found confidence.**_

_**Now enough of my ramblings - enjoy the chapter everyone!**_

End of previous chapter:

One breath, the intoxicating mist of tobacco and nicotine was off into the night. The shrill sound of a cell phone rang out, and it was answered.

"Hey."

"..."

"Yea, they interrogated me, chill out, the evidence they had was pitiful! We do have one problem though..."

"..."

"Yup, you nailed it. Don't worry, I'll get it sorted."

And with that, the conversation ended, the phone was thrown in the trash and the former owner walked off into the night.

_**Chapter 2**_

Blue devious eyes were focused on the slim sharp needle held by slim and crafty hands. The one who the eyes belonged to turned the corners of their mouth up in a malicious smile. The eyes portrayed satisfaction. The needle was placed on the metal tray, and replaced with a pen. Closer and closer the pen came to making contact with the crisp paper. Centimetres turn to inches. Half an inch away from contact, the pen hovered, and its capturer paused to relish in what they viewed as a triumph.

_"A fool proof, elegant plan. Devised by me. Well, who else could do that? No one - that's who! Plus, now I'm, lets say...ahead, of the competition I get what I deserve for my work. My opposition...how to describe them? Hmm...unworthy, selfish, pathetic and a liar. Pitiful!" _

After a dry chuckle, the pen touched the paper and words began to form.

**...**

_What the hell? _Mac thought to himself, slumber still weighing his body tremendously as he turned over to face his night stand, and the source of the blaring, infuriating light: his cell phone. _Ah, shit._ Sitting up groggily, he grabbed the device and squinted as the light blinded his eyes.

Once Mac's eyes began to adjust, and the blurry text came into focus, the main part of the message that caught his attention was "914," Sighing, Mac got out of bed, dressed and headed out towards his car, kit in hand.

During the drive to the address, Mac looked into the rear view mirror and saw the dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious to anyone that he'd gotten little to no sleep. He'd tossed and turned all night, angry at himself for not being able to get some more solid evidence on the case, and that the evidence at the first crime scene hit a dead end, all of it, purely circumstantial. A flash of the Chief's angered face, shouting at him over the issue crossed his mind's eye. Then again, that was nothing new. He didn't care anyway. What angered Mac the most though, was that he, and his team were being called to a separate crime scene, therefore assigned a new case when one of their own was missing, vulnerable _and possibly_...Mac daren't think it, let alone say it. Mac let out a pent up breath, pushed the anger down and concentrated on driving.

**...**

Mac pulled up on the gravel driveway to a quaint, cosy looking house, now a crime scene. Don was standing by the maroon front door, obviously waiting to fill Mac in.

"God Mac, you look terrible." Flack observed, not shy about voicing the opinion to his friend of many years.

"Nice to see you too Don." Mac answered sarcastically.

Don chuckled before speaking, leading the way into the house, Mac followed. "Our victims name is Mandy O'Leary, 22 years of age, no record, according to the neighbours she's friendly when encountered, but often keeps herself to herself."

Mac nodded, taking the information in. _Just as I though, no relation. _Mac thought. Part of him was almost angry at Don, for he seemed perfectly fine on a separate case, though Mac knew he was good at hiding things.

However, Mac stood corrected as he walked into the living room and faced the victim.

Lindsay was taking photos of the victim when Mac suddenly said. "It's the shop assistant."

"Pardon?" Lindsay asked, looking up from the lens of the camera, a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean the shop assistant? Do you know her?" she asked.

"Yes, she's the women who told us Jo was in AllSaints." Mac answered.

"Oh my gosh! Perhaps Jo's kidnapper did this!" Lindsay chest grew tight at the thought of one of her dearest friends, trapped and injured, by a murderer.

Mac blew out a pent up breath. "I know Lindsay. We need to catch this son of a bitch, who killed this girl, who has Jo."

Mac looked at the victim; she was on the sofa and looked as if she'd just fallen asleep. She looked peaceful, her smooth hair draped around her face, eyes closed and her arms resting at her sides. Although at first glance, the description of peaceful would have been apt, when you looked closer, the pale quality to her skin and almost transparent lips told you her body was cold, no contact was needed. The whole picture was incredibly eerie. There didn't appear to be a mark on her which was quite unusual.

Lindsay didn't know what to say, she just watched her boss, God-father to her daughter and dear friend's face change, a mix of emotions crossed it one by one, to finally decide to rest with a frown.

"What do we know so far Lindsay?" Mac asked slowly, unsure if his fragile emotional state and his slowly collapsing composure could withstand the news. His mind's eye pictured a pool of Jo's blood somewhere in the house, evidence of assault present in the mangled bed sheets. _God, get a grip man! _Mac mentally smacked himself around the face and looked directly at Lindsey, signalling her to answer his question, a slight apologetic edge to his expression.

"The whole living room is clean, nothing appears to be out of place, and there are no defensive wounds on the body and nothing in any of the other rooms. Basically, I have nothing." Lindsay sighed.

_I'm failing her._ Mac confessed, but Mac had to push it away. "I'll go over the scene once more with you, and we'll get the body over to autopsy."

"Okay." Lindsay agreed.

**... **

On the long drive back to the lab, Mac and Lindsay were silent; they were both in deep thought.

Lindsay was feeling awful. She had never been to a crime scene where there was absolutely no evidence. _Is that even possible? _Lindsay thought to herself. _I know these guys can be thorough, but so am I, right? Am I really a good detective? _

Mac was feeling absolutely terrified. Not about this killer coming after him, heck, he didn't care about himself, as far as Mac was concerned, he had nothing. His only concern was only for his colleague, for his friend, for Jo, who's in danger or God forbid, dead. _I have nothing. __**Without her. **_His subconscious finished for him. Shocked and confused by his own mind, Mac closed his eyes. He must have imagined that, right? It's probably from a movie that was on in the background in his apartment, yes, that must have been it.

"Mac, can I ask you something?" Lindsay asked, bringing Mac away from his thoughts.

"Yes Lindsay, ask away." Mac replied.

"Am I a good detective? I mean, I know people like our culprit can be very meticulous, but there has always been something at the scene that I've been able to find, but here, nothing. The one time something needs to be found, I can't find it. My friend is depending on me and I've come out with nothing to show that I'm doing all I can to help. Oh gosh, Ellie! What is she going to think?" Throughout the speech, Lindsay's pitch of voice raised a few octaves and she looked over at Mac, a worried and incredibly apologetic look on her face.

Mac sighed shakily. "Look Linds', I know how you feel, believe me I do. The scene is puzzling at best but I have total faith in _you, and _the team that we are going to find her. Jo _will _be fine." Mac said, hoping his voice sounded confident, but he wasn't entirely sure it did.

Lindsay paused for a long moment before answering:

"Mac, a word of advice, just because you're the boss, doesn't mean you have to hold all your emotions in. Talk to someone, write it down...just, do something." Lindsay said, squeezing his shoulder.

Mac and Lindsay spent the rest of the journey is silence, both were thinking about what the other had said, trying to make sense of it, trying to believe it **will** happen, that it **will** help.

**...**

Upon arriving back at the lab, the team had nothing to do, but wait for Sid to finish the autopsy. Mac was sitting in his office, his back turned to the door, looking out at the streets of Manhattan, he was hoping that people watching would be a distraction, but it only brought realisation. Realisation of how exhausted he was.

Mac smiled as a fond memory of his crossed his mind. _"Go home, have a few hours sleep and with a hot shower it might even feel like eight." _Jo's voice echoed around him.

Perhaps going home and resting wouldn't be a bad idea. Even if he didn't sleep, it would be better for his psyche than sitting here in his office surrounded by photos of the crime scenes, the case file having Jo's name on it, and the teams worried looks and to be seen in room after room of the lab.

Mac remembered what Lindsey said, to talk to someone. She was right, he knew that, but, whom should he confide in? After a brief thought, Mac had made a decision.

**...**

Kettle boiled, coffee made, in a silent apartment. Mac sighed, his mug grasped in his hands, the heat radiating through his veins. The deep, aromatic scents of the coffee had a soothing quality, which for Mac, was very welcome. When he entered his bedroom, he sat on the edge of the bed, opened the bedside draw and pulled out a framed picture – of Claire.

Mac held it between his shaking hands for a long moment before he spoke.

"Hey there darlin'," Mac said, his voice barely audible. "I know it's been awhile but you know what work's like." Mac finished nervously, as he knew he avoiding the topic he started out with the intention of voicing to...the only one he had left of whom he could really open up to – be himself.

"Jo's missing honey; I don't know what to do. There's no evidence that's leading anywhere. Am I losing my edge? Am I missing something?" Mac looked up at the photo, at the smiling eyes of his long lost wife. "I really don't know what to think anymore." Mac continued. "Since her disappearance, God, my head, I don't know what's wrong with it! It's like a battle between the consciouses!" He paused. "I-I never noticed how much I relied on her, until she's not around. What does that mean?" Mac sighed, carefully laid the photo down beside him and rubbed his eyes.

"Perhaps...no, no, that surely can't be it, it's just...no. Sleep – that is the answer." Mac said, directing his gaze towards the photo again. He smiled and took the photo in his hands once more.

"Sweet dreams Claire," Mac whispers. "Love you." Then he carefully placed the photo back in the draw. When Mac lay back on the soft pillows, he surrendered himself to slumber and any dreams that may be on the horizon.

**...**

"Mac? Mac, honey, can you hear me?" A distant voice echoed around the detective. He looked around, but saw nothing but white.

"Who's there?" Mac called out into the white abyss. He heard footsteps coming from behind, he turned, and there she was. Claire.

"Hey there." She smiled.

"Claire? What are you doing here? What's going on?" Mac asked, utterly confused.

"You're dreaming darling; you wanted to see me, so here I am." The redhead replied.

Mac just stared at her, speechless.

"I know you're stressed honey, but you _will_ find Jo. We both know she's a strong women, she _will_ be okay." Claire smiled. "Follow your heart, baby." She added.

Mac's eyes snapped open, he sat bolt upright and rubbed his eyes. He felt happy and yet still confused, if not more. Mac looked up and whispered "You were never predictable."

**...**

As Mac walked into the crime lab, he felt refreshed and had gained some of his confidence back. _'Jo will be okay.'_ He echoed Claire's words in his head for perhaps the fourth time and it had reassured every time, without fail.

Sid came up from the stairs of the morgue, caught sight of Mac and walked quickly towards him.

"Hey Mac, I'm glad I caught you."

"Hi Sid, why's that? You finished the autopsy?" Mac asked, the adrenalin beginning to pump through his veins immediately.

"Yes I did. Meet me in the morgue in 5 and I'll show you what I've found." Sid replied with a smile hurried off

**...**

On entering the morgue, case file in hand, Mac's heart was pounding as he was beginning to clutch at straws forensically on Jo's case.

"Hey, Mac." Sid said seriously, as he was just as concerned about Jo as everybody else was.

Mac nodded in reply, indicating to Sid just to get on with his findings.

Sid hesitated before he started. "There's not much for me to tell you, but don't fret, I never let you leave my humble abode without-" Sid was interrupted.

The interruption was Mac's mobile, it's shrilling tones echoed through the morgue.

"I'm sorry Sid," Mac said irritably. "Please excuse me." Mac walked out the morgue. When the door closed, Mac answered his phone. "Taylor."

"Mac, buddy! Can I have a word with you please?" A far too familiar voice said through gritted teeth.

_Why now?_ Mac rubbed his temples, wanting to throw his phone against the wall. What could he do? He couldn't very well say no, even though he wanted to so very much.

"Yes Russ, I'll meet you in my office in a few minutes." Mac said before hanging up.

Sid had heard Mac's muffled irritation through the thick heavy doors to the morgue. Putting two and two together, Sid figured he had an unpleasant visitor to attend to. Sid quietly entered the hallway where Mac was and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Take your time Mac. I'm not going anywhere, and sadly, neither is our vic." Sid sighed.

Mac smiled in appreciation back at him before disappearing behind the elevator doors.

**...**

"Mac," Russ drew out his name in a long syllable, just like he'd done on the phone. Mac nodded in response, not having the patience to even be civil. "Have a seat." Russ offered, standing behind the desk.

Mac's desk. _"Are you kidding me?" _Mac thought to himself.

"I'll stand." Mac replied bluntly, refraining from gritting his teeth as he stared Russ square in the face completely aware of Russ's dominating, not to mention rude manner.

"Alright, now, the reason I came." Russ began, in a sickly sweet voice. "I wanted to ask; why the hell are you investigating into my wife's kidnapping without involving me?!"

Mac's blood began to boil, he had no right to be talking to him like this! "Okay, Russ, I must remind you that Jo is your _ex_-wife. Therefore, there is no obligatory reason for me to involve you in this case, and as of yet, we haven't needed any outside assistance. All of the team, including myself want Jo found, but you showing your temper's true colours won't help."

"Don't you patronise me Taylor! I'll just go above your head and explain your actions to Sinclair who, isn't that fond of you it seems."

"You do that, if that is what helps ease your _pain _and _grief _you're so blatantly suffering from!" Mac said sarcastically, with a bitter edge to his voice. "If you excuse me, I have work to do." Mac said nonchalantly, holding the door open.

Russ glared across at Mac, his eyes were almost on fire but he knew Mac had given him no choice. Sighing irritably, Russ gathered up his suitcase and coat and angrily swept from the head detective's office.

**...**

Fists clenched, teeth locked, Mac began to pace his office, snatching up the slowly growing case file as he did so. Page after page it was, dead-end evidence. They were getting more questions than answers! Mac then turned to the last two pages; the pictures of Mandy O'Leary's body and house.

Then he thought: _Sid! A glimmer of hope at last! _As if on cue, Sid lightly tapped on the glass of Mac's office door. Looking up, Mac smiled.

"Good timing, Sid. I'm terribly sorry about me having to leave you mid sentence earlier, I had...a rather unwelcome acquaintance of mine to attend to." Mac sighed. "So, I know we don't have the poor victim in front of us, but what was the C.O.D?" Mac asked.

Sid cringed inwardly. _How am I going to tell him this? _Sid thought to himself. "Mac, listen, I'm sorry but at present, I don't have much physical detail to tell you. Apart from the fact that there were some cuts and bruises on her which were covered with makeup, perhaps remorse? Or a perfectionist? Regardless, from a medical viewpoint, it looks like she just drifted away in her sleep, but I'm not convinced. I'm going to take another thorough look at the body, I'm determined to find the real cause. It will take me a while, but I'll get there. I'm sorry, Mac." Sid finishes, expecting Mac to become enraged. He 'd noticed Mac's abnormal behaviour towards Jo's case. He knew he really cared for her.

"Sid, don't worry, I appreciate your thoroughness." Mac smiled wearily, feeling his emotions defeating him. "Just give me a call when and if you find something." Mac finished. Sid nodded and left in the direction of the morgue.

_That 'glimmer of hope' was sadly short lived. _Mac thought to himself.

**...**

For awhile after Sid's departure, Mac busied himself with some outstanding paperwork and emails, but after a while, that wasn't sufficient enough to keep his thoughts regarding Jo and her case at bay.

_"I don't have anything! I don't know where she is, if she's alive-." _

"No," Mac said aloud, in a hushed but stern voice. "She _is_ alive." He told himself.

The heated convocation himself as Russ had shard crossed Mac's mind. What if he did go to Chief? He didn't even care, Russ could do whatever the hell he wanted. All he cared about was his colleague. _Colleague! _Mac felt stupid - is that the only word he could come up with to describe her?

"_She isn't just a colleague silly," _Mac's subconscious told him._ "She's more, she's your soul-" _His subconscious was interrupted and Mac was pulled out of his trance as the loud ring of his cell phone grabbed his attention.

"Taylor." Mac answered.

"Mac, it's Sid, I've finally finished the re-examination." Sid said, a brighter tone to his voice.

"Say no more Sid, I'll be right down." Mac replied, hung up, grabbed his note book and coat and headed down to the morgue.

Once Mac entered the morgue, he went to greet Sid who was just finishing his final report of Mandy O'Leary's case. When Sid notices him, he stood.

"Oh hey Mac, you startled me there. If you'd follow me, I'll talk you through what I've found." Sid walked round to an examining table where the body of Mandy O'Leary lay, Mac following behind.

Upon coming to a stop, Mac took a deep breath to compress the emotions that struck him with such force. Sid understood and recognised this straight away having dealt with many grieving family members. All the team were grieving for their friend, for a member of their close family.

After a few minutes Sid quietly cleared his throat, Mac smiled sheepishly and nodded, telling Sid to continue.

Sid smiled and began. "Well, as I said before, there is no external cause for this poor women's death as there is no mark on her. I ruled out a heart attack being the C.O.D, there are no wounds or long term damage to the lungs or liver. So the only other option was the throat." Sid finished.

"Our vic died of asphyxia?" Mac asked.

"Yes, that's right."

"What was the cause?" Mac asked, confused as there were no strangulation marks or her neck.

"It was this." Sid said holding up a folded piece of paper. It thankfully hadn't suffered a lot of damage, as only he edges of the paper had disintegrated. "I haven't opened it up because I didn't want it so disintegrate completely, as I don't have the technology to do that without destroying it."

Mac nodded. "This was lodged in her throat? It looks as if its been stained with tea or coffee, or the paper is authentically old. Did the killer manage to get the paper down her throat while Mandy was alive? Or can't you determine that?" Mac asked.

"We'll the residue around her mouth," Sid pointed at the white substance. "Suggests that she may have been drugged to either knock her out cold, or to render her unable to defend herself against her attacker." He finishes.

"It also explains why she looked peaceful when we found her. Have you taken a sample from the residue?" Mac asked.

"Of course I did, I sent it up to trace but I thought I'd put this is your hands personally." Sid said, handing him the evidence bag with the piece of paper in it.

"Thanks Sid." Mac said smiling.

"I just hope she's okay." Sid replied.

"Me too Sid, me too."

**...**

While the team were waiting for the results on what the substance around Mandy's mouth was, they were all circled around a table with the piece of paper from her mouth placed in the middle.

Mac took a deep breath, pulled on a pair of latex gloves and slowly unfolded the piece of worn paper. It read: "sanguis est retribuendo." The words were a deep crimson red and written in calligraphy.

"Dear God!" Lindsay whispered, her voice laced with worry and grief. "That's Latin, it reads '_Blood is rewarding_.' "

3 words, 5 syllables, 2 seconds. That's all it took, all it took for Mac's heart beat to rise, chest to tighten and dizzying nausea to swirl in his stomach. _God Jo, stay strong for me. _Mac pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed the emotions down. They had to get to work.

The team had noticed the sudden silence in Mac, and the anxiety they felt only grew higher. Suddenly, Mac lifted his head, fire and determination in his eyes and in a calm yet stern tone he said:

"Right guys, this is what we're going to do."

**...**

Jo roused from the deep depths of unconsciousness feeling rotten to her stomach, disorientated and confused. Then she suddenly realised - "_Oh God, I'm not in my cosy apartment in Manhattan, I can't wave Ellie off to school, I can't have brunch with Tyler."_

_**You can't take pleasure in the fresh cup of coffee Mac gives you every morning**__. _Jo's subconscious butt in.

Jo didn't even think to question her subconscious, as a more devastating thought conquered her mind. "_I'll never see any of them again!" _

Jo wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball at that moment. She tried to grasp her knees but something stopped her. She looked at her wrists and she managed to make out a circular shape clasped around them in the dim light. _My cuffs! Oh brilliant! _Jo began to feel trapped and vulnerable and she started to shake and shiver.

Just as the shaking started to become uncontrollable, a switch was flicked and light enveloped the room. Jo screwed up her eyes in an attempt to shield herself from the glare, but those deep chocolate eyes flew open at the sound of three words.

"Hello Detective Danville."

Upon opening her eyes, Jo was faced with a man of early to mid thirties as a guess, he had thick get black hair which was smothered in grease. Eyes of a piercing emerald which made a striking contrast against his tanned, well weathered, tough, unshaven skin. He'd be appealing to Jo if she wasn't in the situation she was in. She was terrified.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Jo stuttered. As the man leant in closer to Jo, she instinctively tried to move away, but the cuffs wouldn't have any of that. She was stuck, trapped terrified.

"My name is Matthew, Matthew Kemp. What I want? I want _justice!_" Matthew answered.

Jo jumped at the last word. "Justice? Justice for what?" Jo asked.

Matthew slowly took a photo out of his inner left hand pocket and held it up to Jo. "For her." He said simply.

Jo looked at the photo. It was of an incredibly beautiful women. She had porcelain skin, entrancing blue eyes and full red lips. She was smiling. Her sparking eyes focused on the person taking the photo.

"My wife. My late wife." Matthew answered. "We got married when we were both 20, young I know, but, we were in love. We had a small cottage, not much in it mind, a little more than the clothes on our backs. No matter. We had each other." He paused, his expression changing. It changed from one of happiness, to one of sorrow.

Jo, her curiosity getting the better of her, began to wonder what was paining him.

"We don't have each other anymore though." Matthew continued. "Not since the 7th of October 2005." He had his back to Jo at this point, so she couldn't see the anger rising in Matthew's eyes.

"Not after that!" He shouted. Slamming down 3 photos on the table at the foot of the bed.

Jo didn't jump that time. Matthew was staring at her, right in the eyes. Jo slowly and carefully leaned up and looked at the photos. They were horrible. The first, Matthews wife lay centre of a bed. The sheets were red with blood. Her body had been placed in the foetal position. The second was of her hands. Both were tied to the same bed post, frail and lifeless. The last was of her face. She was gaunt, her eyes were glassy, her skin was red, as if she'd just been crying moments before she perished. She looked terrified.

Jo had to turn her head, she couldn't look at the pictures anymore, couldn't look at what remained of that young women who had her whole life ahead of her.

"Matthew, I am deeply sorry for the loss of your wife, but," Jo paused, scared to question the man who held her captive. "I don't see what I can do." Jo finished, stuttering slightly.

"The Chicago P.D were useless! They ruled everything as circumstantial! _Circumstantial?! _Bastards! My darling Maria had her life ripped from her by a brutal being and he's still out there! When he should be locked away from human kind and left to rot! So you see, , what you can do, is help me, help me find justice for my Maria. You can analyse the evidence, the crime scene, everything! And do it properly. I know you can, I saw you on the news. You're the best detective in New York. You've solved thousands of cases and gotten justice for all those families. Now you can do the same for mine. Will you?" Matthew asked.

Jo sat there for a few moments, shocked. "I...I..." Jo stammered. _What choice do I have?_ Jo thought to herself.

"Yes Matthew, I will help you." Jo said in the steadiest voice she could manage.

**...**

**Hope you enjoyed it guys. Once again, I'm sorry for the massive wait but I have a lot of pressure from school at the moment with exams and all that. So, it's taking up a lot of my time, but thank you for sticking with me and still reading. **

14


	3. Chapter 3

**Shopaholic Sobered Up.  **

Chapter 3

_**Okay guys, here's Ch.3, I hope it's okay and that you enjoy it. Please R&R, every review means the world and any advise is much appreciated also. Also, I apologise profusely for the long wait, I've been so busy and without inspiration for too long! **_

_**Chapter 3**_

Mac walked out of his office, and immediately sent an all round text to the team, telling them to meet in the conference room.

**...**

**"**So what are we doing here, Boss?" Adam asked

"Well, as we know, this killer is very meticulous and follows a strict routine and never wavers from it. He or she is very old fashioned as they used chloroform as a sedative on Mandy O'Leary. Considering this persons persona, he or she would not have kidnapped Jo on an impulse for no reason, so I thought there has to be a connection between her and our kidnapper, and considering the evidence has led us nowhere, I thought we'd look through Jo's FBI cases to see if there is a connection there."

"Seems like a good step." Lindsay commented.

"Alright," said Don. "Let's get to it."

**...**

Page after page of writing, everyone was running of fumes and countless amounts of coffee. No one had managed to find a connection between any of the cases they were looking at, and Jo's disappearance. Everyone was getting frustrated. The evidence they had collected before Mandy O'Leary's case had been useless until the note, and now they were hitting a dead end again.

After a few more hours of searching through the mountain of case files, something finally caught Mac's eye and he leant forward in his chair.

Lindsey noticed and asked "What have you got Mac?"

"I think I've found the case." Mac replied, the adrenaline beginning to pump through his veins. "The case began in 1990 and stopped in 2000, John Lockley killed a total of 10 women." Mac paused and flicked through a couple of pages, scanning the victims. "They all appear to be average height, pale and dark haired..." Mac trailed off as he realised Jo fitted Lockleys type perfectly, the team were just as worried, so understood and Mac compose himself. Once he'd done so, Mac continued. "The killings were in California, so the P.D there took charge." Mac made a space on the cluttered table and laid out photos of the 10 victims from the original crime scenes. Most were gruesome. "Each one, like Mandy had a note in her throat, each with a message written on it in Latin. On all the cases, that was the only piece of evidence that wasn't circumstantial. The notes said things like, _'to choke is a victory' _things along those kind of lines.

"It was a way of taunting the P.D perhaps?" Don suggested.

"That's what the California P.D thought, and what I think too." Mac replied.

"So how did Lockley get caught?" Adam asked.

"He had a mental breakdown, rushed out into the city centre and confessed basically, he thought he was doing the world a favour, wanted to be praised for his _fantastic work._ When the police took him back to the station, he just kept spouting gibberish as if no one was talking to him. At the trial, the defence pled insanity and he's been in the New York State Psychiatric Institute ever since." Mac replied.

"Did Lockley have a partner in crime?" Lindsey asked. "Because, it's been 12 years, we need to eliminate as many possibilities as possible."

"No he didn't, that was one thing he stressed. He insisted he did it alone." Mac replied.

"Copycat killer?" Sheldon suggested.

"I doubt it," Don said. "As Mac has already said, there has to be a connection between the kidnapper, case and Jo. A copycat killer starts because they are obsessed with the work of the original killer, not the victims. Did Jo do any of the interrogation?" Don asked, looking at Mac.

"No, her boss did that, along with Russ." Mac replied.

The team were at a loss, and time was running out.

**...**

Mac was startled awake from a dream he couldn't remember. It was most likely for the best. He slowly began to register where he was. His left hand was wrapped around a mug and his right was grasped a pen - both these signs, a general symbol of Mac's workaholism.

Mac sat up slowly and a shot of pain rushed down his back. Placing a hand on the base of his spine, Mac stumbled into the kitchen carrying the mug he woke up holding with him. As he walked, he looked at his watch. 8:30 am. _Thank God I have the morning off - the Chief would have had my head. _Mac thought to himself.

Once he'd set the kettle to boil, he went for a shower, during which his mind started to get rid of the grogginess that clouded it, and he began to worry to no end. _Where is she? What's happening to her? What is the damn connection? There has to be one! I will find you, Jo. _

After his shower, Mac walked briskly back into the kitchen and made himself a coffee. The doorbell rang just as Mac put some toast in the toaster. He went to the door, opened it and saw Ellie.

"Ellie-" Mac stopped mid-sentence noticing the girl's drained face and watery eyes. "Oh Ellie, come here." Mac said, pulling her into a hug.

"I want my mum back Mac!" Ellie sobbed into the detectives shoulder. "Have you found anything yet?" Ellie asked with haste.

Mac sighed, and went to answer but Ellie beat him to it. "You can't tell me, can you?"

"Ellie, I never want to upset you, and if I told you, that's all I'd accomplish." Mac answered truthfully. After having no response from the grief stricken teen, Mac began to notice that her clothes were dirty, her hair appeared un-brushed and she looked exhausted.

"El honey, have you eaten anything today?" Mac asked, concerned.

"No...I haven't." Ellie mumbled.

"Well that won't do." Mac said, gently taking her hand and guiding her towards the kitchen. "How about some pancakes?" Mac asked, his question obviously rhetorical as he had already poured the mixture in the pan.

"Mac," Ellie began, out of the blue after several worrying minutes of silence. "I'm staying with Tyler at the moment, in his flat but I hate it, it's all dirty and he always has his girlfriend over and they can't quit locking lips for 5 seconds! Sheesh!" Ellie exclaimed.

Mac couldn't help but chuckle, but he was silenced by Ellie asking;

"Mac, can I stay with you, please?" She asked.

"Oh Ellie I don't know, I-"

"It's...it's what mum would have wanted!" Ellie interrupted.

Mac paused before answering. _If it's the last thing I do for her, I know I will have done right. _"Alright Ellie, you can stay. Jus text Tyler let him know and I'll go and get a taxi sorted for you so you can get your stuff."

"Oh thank you so much Mac!" She gave him a quick hug, and went grab her phone.

**...**

"Are you sure, Mac?" Tyler asked for Mac reckoned the 7th time.

"Yes Tyler, I am absolutely sure. I would gladly look after Ellie. She's a wonderful girl." Mac said truthfully.

"Thank you Mac, I'll go and get her stuff ready." Tyler replied.

"Okay, take care." Mac said and disconnected the call.

Suddenly Ellie flung her arms around his waist with such force Mac stumbled a little. "Easy there, El." Mac chuckled slightly.

Ignoring that Ellie simply replied, "Thank you, Mac" as she looked up at him.

For a moment, Mac was lost for words, his emotions a little overwhelming. After awhile he managed to reply, "Your welcome kiddo. Now, who wants chocolate chip pancakes?" Mac asked.

"I do, I do, I do." Ellie sang excitedly and dashed into the kitchen, Mac followed after her, laughing to himself. _Such a cute kid! _He thought.

**...**

Jo's eyes opened and she realised she was no longer on the hospital like bed anymore. _Oh great! Where am I now? _That was when Jo realised that she was moving. Side to side the vehicle rocked as it went over bump over bump. _Second thoughts, where am I going? _Jo placed her hands in front of her trying to feel her way around, as it was almost pitch black and she quickly established that wherever she _was, _was a very small space. She moved her hands upward, and her fingertips quickly came in contact with the closed in walls. The claustrophobic atmosphere made Jo shiver. Whether it was the icy coldness of the room itself, or the sheer fear she felt.

All of a sudden, Jo became aware of muffled voices, presumably from whoever was in the front of whatever vehicle this was.

"Oh come on Matthew, your being naïve, she is a detective..." The next few words were muffled from the voice that sounded distorted through the thick walls. "She's going to be scheming on how to escape!" Another few minutes of incoherent mumblings followed. "They way you're going, the cops will get us. You don't want that do you? You want to get _justice for your __**precious**_ _Maria." _The last part was said in a bitter and sarcastic tone by whoever was with Matthew and Jo couldn't but feel sorry for him. Then a pang of a much stronger emotion hit her - pure sadness.

_Mac, I miss you._ Jo admitted.

"Look..." a few more muffled words were said that Jo couldn't make out. "I know the next step, and I don't want causing anymore hurt! It's not right!" Matthew shouted.

Whoever he was arguing with then got angry and shouted. "Look buddy, you need me in this. If you want me to help you and back you if this goes pear shaped then you better remember my terms. Only way I'll help and back you is if I can do what I've planned, want, and need to do for this to work. There's no way _you_ can be the dominator here, and we need to hold her. You have no choice but to comply to me." The unknown voice hissed.

Silence. Surrender. _Oh God, what terms? What's going to happen to me?_

**...**

Mac raised his hand and gave a small wave to Ellie who was in the back of a taxi, on her way to pick up her things.

Once the taxi had become emerged in the sheer mass of traffic, Mac when inside. Once inside, he headed straight into his office, where he'd woken up a few hours earlier. You couldn't make out the colour of the walls, for all the pieces of paper plastered along it, scribbled notes a many sprawled across the faded and crumpled paper. One caught his eye, one he didn't want to see. It was on the top of the cluttered pile of notes on his desk; there was a single sentence on it. "Note – written in Jo's blood." Mac's stomach swirled and bile rose in his throat. He couldn't lose her, he just couldn't. _She means too much to you._ Mac's subconscious told him. He was to overwhelmed with emotions to question why that happened. _Get a grip man! _Mac shook himself mentally, suppressed the emotions, swallowed the bile and took a deep breath.

Just then, Mac's mobile rang. _I really don't need this now!_ Mac thought, but he had to answer.

"Taylor." he answered.

"Mac, its Brigham." Sinclair said.

"Morning Sir. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Mac asked.

"Lindsay has filled me in on the substance around Miss. O'Leary's mouth being chloroform, I was just wondering if you'd found a link between the note and, well anything with the slightest significance really."

"I think I've made a breakthrough, it may be small, but its a start." Mac replied, finally feeling a little more confident.

"That's what I like to hear. Shall we have a small meeting in my office when you start your shift?" Sinclair asked.

"Sure, see you then." Mac hanged up.

**...**

Mac was on his way to the lab after making sure Ellie was settled in the spare room, had some food in her stomach, knew where everything was and assured that she can make herself at home. When he got to the lab, Mac went straight to Sinclair's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in Mac." Sinclair called.

Mac walked in and closed the door behind him.

"What have you got, Mac?" Sinclair asked.

"Well, I was thinking, it's highly unlikely that this perp has just...kidnapped Jo for no reason, as we've just established that the anaesthetic used on Mandy O'Leary was chloroform, that shows that the killer of Mandy and the...most likely kidnapper of Jo, is meticulous and precise."

Sinclair nodded in response.

"...so there must be a motive behind it, a killer like our perp is by no means impulsive. So, I thought we should look at Jo's FBI cases going back, I'd say 6 years, which we did."

Sinclair nodded, he agreed with Mac. "And? What have you found?" Sinclair asked.

"We've found a case that matches ours with evidence and whatnot, but we can't find a plausible connection to why the case stopped, started up again after 10 years and why Jo is the victim..." Mac replied.

"That's a helpful coincidence then, as I'm asking the FBI to come and assist you in the case. "

"Why?" Mac asked.

Sinclair hesitated before answering. "Mac I've been...keeping an eye on you, shall we say, throughout this investigation, and don't get me wrong, I'm just as worried about Jo as you are, but I think because Jo is missing, your judgement is being clouded. That's why I've asked Josephson to assist you in leading the investigation." Sinclair finished.

Now, Mac Taylor usually had a very good hold of his emotions, but now that hold was quickly slipping.

Mac took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. "Sir, how could you accuse me of letting my emotions cloud my judgement? I'm only trying to find Jo! I have to! And, with all due respect, how could you choose Russ to liaise with us? He's Jo's ex-husband! If anyone's judgement is going to be clouded, it's his!" Mac said, slight irritation showing in his voice.

"Taylor, just because you don't get on with Josephson doesn't mean he's not a good detective!" Sinclair snapped back.

"What?" Mac asked, confused.

"You really thought he wouldn't file a complaint if he felt that you were being hot headed?" Sinclair said raising his voice.

"I wasn't being hot headed, sir it was Russ who was being appropriate and asking the information I couldn't give him, asking why we hadn't involved him in the investigation, and at that time, there was no need to. We didn't need assistance from the FBI and Russ is no longer with Jo so there was no obligatory need to involve him in the case." Mac argued.

"Look Taylor, my decision is final, regardless of what you think. I've sent the case file over to Russ and he wants to meet you in 30 minutes to discuss things. I don't know what the 'things' are."

"Alright, thanks." Mac said, and left his office.

**...**

Jo had fallen unconscious as it was incredibly hot in the back of the van where she was held captive and had not been given any food or water in several hours. She was startled awake however, by the abrupt stop of the van. Disorientated, Jo was trying to remember where she was, but before she could establish that, the van doors were flung open and she was yanked out by the back of her shirt and thrown on the floor.

"Get up!" a gruff female voice ordered, but Jo couldn't move as she was still barely conscious. Jo was terrified and wanted nothing more than to be able to stand to, with any luck, keep herself safe for as long as possible, but her limbs just wouldn't move!

"I said get up!" the unknown women shouted at her, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up. Jo stumbled quite a lot, she somehow managed to find her balance, but her vision was still immensely blurred.

"What do you want with me?" Jo asked the terror showing in her voice. She tried to look at the women but her vision refused to focus fully, all Jo could make out was quite a pointy bone structure and that she had white blonde hair. She had refused to answer Jo's question, she just began to drag her to some unknown destination. Jo could tell they were walking in a field because of the grass brushing against her legs but that was it.

After a few minutes of walking, the women stopped and Jo followed suit, pulling her arm away from the women. Her vision had finally focused but she was too terrified of looking at the women, of fear of causing her to anger and put herself in more danger.

"Hello Jo."

Jo looked up and saw Matthew. "Hi..." Jo stuttered. "Umm, where am I?" Jo asked nervously.

"You're at your new work post. Analysing the evidence of my Maria's case" Matthew answered, gesturing to the big building behind him.

Jo looked up at the building behind him. It was red bricked, old but sturdy looking. It appeared to be an old barn conversion because it had a very grand oak front door with a big iron old-fashioned handle. Through another person's eyes, it would have looked beautiful; Jo probably would find it beautiful if she wasn't under such terrifying circumstances.

"Well? Don't you want to get started?" Matthew asked.

_No, I want to go home, hug my children, and feel safe...with Mac. _Jo let out a pent up breath. _Ellie, Tyler, I love you. _"Yes Matthew, I do." Jo lied, but what choice did she have? She didn't have any, and with that, she walked towards the door where Matt was standing.

**There we have it guys! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to take the opportunity to say that I have a twitter account under my Pen Name. Please follow me for regular updates.**

**Cheers! **_**csinyfever. **_

9


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